Birdwatching Day Tours from Porto Overview
Porto, Portugal’s second largest city and a favourite destination with tourists, is well-positioned as a base from which to visit all of the most important birding sites in the north of the country.
Less than half-an-hour away, to the south, is Barrinha de Esmoriz, which boasts one of the most important coastal wetlands in the whole of northern Portugal. Its patchwork of brackish waters, tidal mudflats, reedbeds and riparian woodland attracts a wide range of bird species throughout the year.
Closer still to Porto are the small coastal Douro Estuary Local Natural Reserve at Vila Nova de Gaia and the Jardim do Passeio Alegre at Foz, a relaxing park area of well-tended municipal gardens.
The three sites can be combined as a full-day tour or, alternatively, we offer half day tours to Barrinha de Esmoriz, or Douro Estuary Reserve together with the gardens at Foz.
Even the most casual look at a map of Portugal highlights the significance of the Aveiro Lagoon as an enormously attractive site for birds. Formed centuries ago by the retreat of the sea and the natural deposit of sand, a barrier was established behind which the lagoon was created by the flow of four rivers, the Vouga, Antuã, Boco and Fontão. This massive lagoon extends 25 km north to south, has a maximum width of 11 km and covers an area of approximately 11,000 hectares. The wealth of wildlife is remarkable and includes a bird list of over 300 species. The Aveiro Lagoon is about a 50-minute drive from Porto and requires a full day tour.
Another option is to visit the Peneda-Gerês National Park, situated in the north-west of Portugal on the border with Spain. It is Portugal’s only national park and is justly renowned for the diversity of its fauna and flora, its scenic beauty and its cultural heritage. The park spans an area of almost 70,000 hectares and incorporates the stunningly rugged mountains of Amarela, Gerês, Peneda and Soajo, which showcase an amazing diversity of natural features from bare mountain tops, to subalpine woodland and meadows, heath and, at lower elevations, deciduous forests of oak, chestnut and birch. In contrast, the steep-sided river valleys are lush with riparian forests of alder, willow and ash. The park is approximately a 90-minute drive from Porto and requires a full day tour.
The International Douro Natural Park was established in 1998 with the aims of protecting the dramatic landscapes of the region and their wealth of flora and fauna. The park covers an area of almost 90,000 hectares along a length of some 122 km of the Douro and Águeda rivers, where they form the border between Portugal and Spain. It is one of the largest protected areas in Portugal and is characterised by deep, V-shaped valleys, high cliffs interspersed with elevated plateaus of underlying metamorphic rock. The vegetation is largely Mediterranean in character with Holm Oak and Cork Oak being the principal trees, while the plateaus have a rich agricultural history of crop-growing and cattle-rearing with scattered vineyards, olive groves, almond orchards and pastures, providing a diversity of farming activities. The sites visited are almost a 3-hour drive from Porto and we suggest a minimum of two days be allowed to ensure the region can be properly explored. We are able to recommend and book overnight accommodation for the tour.
For additional information about the above tours, please refer to:
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Photos by Pedro Marques
